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7 family-friendly literacy activities to empower families as readers.

This blog was originally published on October 24, 2016 and received an update on March 24, 2020.

As educators and advocates for literacy, our efforts focus primarily on the day-to-day school environment. But to inspire a love of reading and have a positive impact on the literacy skills of today’s students, there’s one crucial ally we need in our corner: families.

Now more than ever, as students are engaging in remote learning due to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), it’s important to ensure that parents and guardians are equipped with the tools to encourage and support reading at home.

We all know that more reading equals better readers. Students need to read widely and deeply—and become engaged with books from an early age—to develop strong literacy skills and a real desire to read.

And this begins at home.

According to the U.S. Department of Education’s America Reads Challenge (1999):

“If daily reading begins in infancy, by the time the child is 5 years old, he or she has been fed roughly 900 hours of brain food! Reduce that experience to just 30 minutes a week and the child’s hungry mind loses 770 hours of nursery rhymes, fairy tales, and stories. A kindergarten student who has not been read to could enter school with less than 60 hours of literacy nutrition. No teacher, no matter how talented, can make up for those lost hours of mental nourishment.”

Most parents aren’t teachers or literacy experts, and that’s okay. They’re probably overwhelmed right now and may require some guidance on your part, so make sure to keep the lines of communication open during this time of remote learning. Email with suggestions for activities like the ones we list below and schedule office hours for answering questions. (Find more tips for remote teaching here .)

Most importantly, remind them that literacy-rich activities can be simple and fun for the whole family. Here are some of our favorite ways for kids and parents to enjoy books, reading and literacy together.

1. Read together. Or separately. Really, just read!

Kids take their cues from what they see around them. Reading a favorite fairytale or picture book aloud at bedtime, for example, allows guardians to model fluency, expression, pronunciation and more—in the same way that teachers model these skills in the classroom. There are also plenty of authors and celebrities reading aloud online to promote literacy during COVID-19.

But children also benefit when they see the adults around them reading on their own. Whether a parent is engrossed in their favorite mystery series or reading the newspaper over breakfast on a Saturday morning, they are setting the example that reading is a natural—and valuable—part of everyday life.

Amy Adams and Jennifer Garner invited me to read a book for #SaveWithStories & Not Quite Narwhal was my choice for you. Head to "SaveWithStories" on Instagram to enjoy more stories and find out how you can help @savethechildren and @nokidhungry . Take care. Stay home. Be well. ? pic.twitter.com/QkllxVqzyk — Lupita Nyong'o (@Lupita_Nyongo) March 20, 2020

2 . Take advantage of the many literacy resources available.

There are an abundance of websites offering content from printable activity packs to reading games that can help guardians who aren’t sure how to talk about a book.

A good place to start is our C omprehensive Guide to Remote Teaching Resources for Educators at Every Grade , where we have compiled a list of the best resources being created and shared all over the country in the interest of maintaining learning while social distancing. We’ve been updating with new resources as we find them in an effort to make life easier for both educators and for parents and guardians at home!

3. Start a family book club.

If a child has a book they’ve been wanting to read, why not read it together as a family?! Parents and guardians can take a page from the book clubs and literature circles that teachers use in the classroom and get an in-depth conversation going.

Be sure to choose a book that appeals to all readers—and can accommodate all reading levels—in the family. Mother-daughter book clubs (or mother-son, father-son, father-daughter, grandparent-grandchild book clubs … whatever family dynamic you prefer) are another neat way to share books and reading with the people closest to you.

4 . Initiate dinner table discussions.

Parents don’t always need to read the same titles as their children to talk about books together. Over dinner, families can discuss what they’re currently reading, and ask some basic comprehe n sion questions like:

“What is the main topic of the book?”

“Where is the story set? How do you know?”

“What do you think will happen next?”

“How does this book compare to another one you have read on this topic?”

Let the conversation flow naturally and be sure to share what you’re reading too.

5. Create non-traditional book reports together .

Encouraging kids to think critically is also the aim of book reports. But rather than simply taking pencil to paper, why not get a bit more creative?

Use items from around the house from mint tins to paper bags to pizza boxes to come up with a new way to share what they’ve learned . While you’re working, you can discuss the text and dive deep on characters and setting.

6 . E xplore print and language in the real world.

Words are everywhere—not just in books. Yes, children benefit when parents and other adults read to them on a regular basis, but there are many other language- and print-rich environments that can help families prioritize literacy from an early age. Tips you can share include:

Pull out a cookbook and show your toddler how you follow the steps to make a batch of cookies

Sing nursery rhymes and have lots of conversations (on any topic you like!) to help children build a rich vocabulary and strong oral language skills

Ask younger children to tell a story by drawing pictures and then “reading” their story to you

Play a board game like Scrabble with older children to practice reading skills, expand vocabulary and more

Listen to audio books together as a family

7 . Develop 21 st century literacy skills.

Today’s students need to be prepared to do more than just read; they need to know how to critically evaluate text and media in a wide variety of formats. Do kids realize that reading something online doesn’t necessarily make it true?

While teachers are spending more and more time integrating technology into the classroom and preparing students for a world that requires an increasingly broader set of literacy skills, it’s also up to parents and guardians to help children think deeply about the multimedia they consume. Tactics to try:

Talk about the apps that kids use and the video games they play. See if they can identify the subtle messages each piece of digital media conveys.

After watching a family movie, take the time to research a topic or theme from the film. Watch an online video or read a news article that offers more information. And then discuss how the varying pieces of media present the topic differently.

Do kids understand the subtle tactics advertisers use to influence customers? From TV commercials to cereal boxes, show them how marketing works—and how strong literacy and critical thinking skills can help you make informed decisions.

Whether you’re a teacher or guardian (or both!), there are so many easy—and fun—ways to help children develop the literacy skills that are crucial to a lifetime of reading and learning. What are you waiting for? With these ideas for family-friendly literacy activities, you can get started today!

About the Author: Booksource

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I am a Site Coordinator for a 21stCCLC After School Program. We are hosting a Family Literacy Night in April. Would it be possible for me to make copies of this article to send home with parents?

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Feel free to send this article home with parents. We’re glad you find it to be a helpful resource! – Your Booksource Team

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[…] And be sure to check out our recent list of 7 Family-Friendly Literacy Activities to Empower Families as Readers! […]

Great -thank you so much.our school are considering how to make partnerships with parents – and these items could form the menu of a set of meetings or a one night event.

I was able to find good advice from your blog posts.

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21 Family Literacy Activities For Fun Learning

November 9, 2023 // by Keren Dinkin

Kids have a special bond with their families, and learning together has proven to strengthen that bond! Parents are a child’s first educators and thus play a vital role in their love or hatred for education. Family literacy doesn’t have to mean pinning your child to the study table and asking them to complete their homework. Instead, consider how all of the small events in the home and community, as well as a host of fun activities, can help them learn and grow. If you’re looking for family literacy activities for everyday life, we have 21 excellent ideas for you!

1. Storytelling

Kids love hearing true stories about their families and tales about their cultures. Through oral retelling, you and the parents of your students can bring rich narratives to light! These narratives can be celebrated for years to come when they’re recorded and preserved as the power of storytelling never dies!

Learn More: NCTE

2. Word Jar

If you want your kids to develop a rich vocabulary- a word jar is a great solution! In a jar, add chits with different words. Have your kids pick out one every morning and, as a family, discuss the meaning. Then, task them with seeing who can use it the most throughout the day. This simple practice will help them quickly bolster their literacy skills.

Learn More: What Do We Do All Day

3. Family Game Night

Why not host a family game night that’s centered around literacy? Choose a fun theme like Candy Land and bring on the games! Parents and students alike can then engage in games like Hedbanz; guessing what image is on their forehead, based on their partner’s description. Of course, the winners will walk away with the perfect prize- a new book!

Learn More: Conversations In Literacy

4. Family Movie Night

Which was better- the book or the movie? Let your kids decide for themselves! Many children’s books have been adapted into movies. Prompt your kiddos to read the book throughout the week and watch the movie on the weekend. In the end, this will spark endless discussions where everyone can compare the similarities and differences between them!

Learn More: Everyday Reading

5. Family Book Clubs

Book clubs are a popular way for friends to read books independently but gather to discuss all of the juicy details of the story. So, why not prompt your kiddos to rally their family members to join one? Together, they can choose a book that each person can read independently. Once complete, they can set aside a specific night for the discussion- with yummy snacks and fun crafts included!

Learn More: We Are Te a chers

6. Family Flash Cards

Here’s an interactive way to practice literacy skills with your kiddos. Create phonics flashcards with pictures or words. Make it a routine to practice the sounds of the alphabet and digraphs with them until they’ve mastered each card. After some focused practice, have them put their skills to use as they read you their favorite story!

Learn More: Crayon Lane Teach

7. Family Dinner Discussions

Family dinner is an excellent time for bonding and sharing special moments of the day. You can employ helpful conversation starters to get your kids to speak about their day, what they enjoyed, and so on. We love that this is a social/emotional learning activity and that each card includes the affirmation- “I love and accept who I am on the inside and know my emotions are nothing to hide.”

Learn More: Hutton and Hutton

8. Visit A Library

You don’t need to restrict your family’s literary activity to your home. You can visit a library and enjoy picture books, encyclopedias, and all the storybooks available there. This guide includes 8 helpful tips for visiting your library- like teaching your kids how to care for books, and spending time learning about their passions!

Learn More: Scholastic

9. Audiobooks

Do your kiddies lack interest in reading physical books? Try changing things up and introducing them to the world of audiobooks! You can listen to the book together and then ask your kids questions about what they’ve heard.

Learn More: Readin g Rockets

10. Supermarket Literacy Activity

The learning doesn’t have to stop when your kiddos step outside of the classroom! Grocery shopping is the perfect opportunity for students to see that reading is a necessary life skill. If you have elementary children, teach them what macronutrients and micronutrients are so that they can understand the nutritional value of what they’re eating. Then, teach them how to read food labels and identify components in them; helping them make healthy decisions about what goes into their cart and bolstering their literacy at the same time!

Learn More: Very Well Family

11. Cooking With Kids

Cooking with kids is an easy way to boost your little ones’ literacy skills. There are several ways in which you can involve them- like making grocery lists, reading recipes, or arranging the ingredients in order of use. Savor those sweet moments when they’re learning through doing!

12. Literacy Scavenger Hunt

Your next garden visit can easily be made into a fun and engaging literacy activity. Ask your kids to look around and find specific objects. Play a spotting game—spot something green (leaves, bushes), spot the letter O (on nameplates), spot a bird (on trees or flying), or find something that rhymes with the word, bee for example.

Celebrate National Family Literacy Day by playing a game of bingo. You can create your own bingo card with a variety of activities like reading a comic book together, visiting the library, or playing a specific literacy game. Use the card for weeks; marking off each activity until they’ve reached BINGO! You can even add a book prize once they complete it!

Learn More: The Wellness Almanac

14. Collage Fun

Add a twist to story-telling by making fun collages from magazine and paper cuttings with your learners. With each unique collage, you can ask them to narrate the story that’s being told through their combined images. Another idea is to invite them to use family photographs that weave a tale about their family history.

15. Virtual Field Trip

It’s probably not super realistic for you to take your kids to see the Egyptian pyramids or the Great Wall of China, but now you can take them there virtually! Many national parks, museums, and historic places have started virtual field trips. There are over 40 locations listed that offer your kids a unique learning experience that will be forever etched in their memories. Afterward, ask them to write a report on what they’ve learned to develop their writing skills!

Learn More: Kids Activities Blog

16. Reader’s Theater

Gather the family and distribute the roles because it’s showtime! Ask each participant to read aloud and act out a part of a chosen story. In a reader’s theater, the lines don’t have to be memorized, but rather they’re read fluently and with enthusiasm! Let your littles practice reading the story on their own first, and then put it together for a memorable reenactment!

Learn More: Reading Ro ckets

17. Space-Themed Literacy Activity

Most children are enthralled by the moon, stars, and any type of space-related tale! Turn their curiosity into a literacy activity by having them learn a space-themed poem, write a letter to an astronaut, or write a story that’s set in space. For an art-themed literacy activity- have them draw the solar system and label the planets.

Learn More: Twinkl

18. Gratitude Journal

Gratitude journals are a great way of prompting your kiddos to accept things as they are and be thankful for what they have. Encourage your kids to write about their day’s blessings whilst doing the same yourself. Once the page is filled in, ask your kids to read aloud what they’ve written and vice versa. This will foster a deep connection with your kids and give you some insight into their day!

Learn More: Mess For Less

With literacy practice and chores complete- we’ll call this activity a win! Teach your young ones about taking on more responsibility by having them participate in household chores. They can write their own age-appropriate chore list as you teach them related words, like neat, clean, soap, mop, and vacuum.

20. Crossword Puzzles

Crossword puzzles are an engaging way to help your kiddies learn new vocabulary words! With puzzles related to so many topics on the market, there’s no shortage of learning opportunities! Find an age-appropriate crossword and let your kiddos fill in the answers after reading the prompts!

Learn More: Ruwix

21. Label Household Items

Prompt novice readers to take part in the activity of labeling household items. Write the names of common household items on paper and ask the kids to stick them in the right places. For younger kids, you can use letters instead of words. They’ll quickly learn that a spoon starts with an S, a chair with a C, and so on.

Learn More: MOMtessori Life

Exploring and Sharing Family Stories

Resources & Preparation
Instructional Plan
Related Resources

In this lesson, students are encouraged to explore the idea of memory in both large- and small-group settings. Students access their own life experiences and then discuss family stories they have heard. After choosing a family member to interview, students create questions, interview their relative, and write a personal narrative that describes not only the answers to their questions but their own reactions to these responses. These narratives are peer reviewed and can be published as a class magazine or a website.

From Theory to Practice

The topic of memory can engage students in both reading and writing, especially if those activities act as a bridge between school and family.
Students can be encouraged to view their own life history and that of other family members as a composition that is created through memory and that is therefore subject to constant revision and documentation.
Requiring students to pay attention to and craft both their own memories and those of other people can help them become more thoughtful readers and writers in other contexts.

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
7. Students conduct research on issues and interests by generating ideas and questions, and by posing problems. They gather, evaluate, and synthesize data from a variety of sources (e.g., print and nonprint texts, artifacts, people) to communicate their discoveries in ways that suit their purpose and audience.
12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).

Materials and Technology

Video or tape recorders (optional)
Chart paper
Note to Families
Personal Narrative Assignment Sheet
Oral History Questions worksheet
How to Interview a Relative worksheet
Peer Review Worksheet
"Mixing Memory and Desire: A Family Literacy Event" by Mark Faust
Family Memories Narrative Rubric

Preparation

Student objectives.

Students will

Access personal and family memories by discussing them in large- and small-group settings
Demonstrate comprehension by reviewing other personal narratives and discussing how they might apply some of the same techniques to their own work
Apply critical-thinking skills by translating what they see in these narratives into potential interview questions
Practice knowledge acquisition by learning how to best conduct an interview and taking notes during their interview to use for their future personal narrative.
Work collaboratively by peer reviewing each other's work
Practice synthesizing information and writing by assembling their notes into a personal narrative

Homework (due by Session 3): Students should bring home the Note to Families and talk about interviewing an older relative. With help, they should determine whom they are going to talk to for this assignment and how the interview will be conducted (for example, over the phone or email or by visiting the relative). Students should contact the relative and should come to Session 3 with a name and the format their interview will take.

Homework (due before Session 4): Write at least five interview questions.

Note: Students need to have finalized their interview questions by this session. You may need to leave time for them to turn in several drafts.

Homework: Students should complete their interviews and write drafts of their personal narratives by Session 5. The amount of time you give students to complete this work is up to you, but it should be a minimum of a week.

Sessions 5 and 6

Homework: Students should revise their personal narratives using the feedback from the peer review sheets. They should turn in these sheets along with their interview questions and notes when they hand in their final personal narrative. You may want to give them time (and encourage them) to contact their relatives for further questioning or clarification after the peer review sessions.

Bring the class back together for a final discussion about memory and what they learned by interviewing their relative and writing the personal narrative. Questions for discussion include:

When reading other people's narratives, did you see any similarities with your own narrative? What were they?
What was unique to your own narrative?
Did you see any differences in experiences based on where people lived?
Why do you think it is important for people to share their life stories?
If you were writing your own life story, what are some things you would include?
Publish the student narratives as a magazine or website. If you do this, you might collect family photos from each student. Allow students time in class to review the publication.
Have students share their stories with younger classes. A class "author's night" could also be arranged to share stories with family members (including interview subjects).
Have students read the novel The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman by Ernest Gaines (Bantam, 1982). Have students compare this fictional personal narrative with the ones they wrote.

Student Assessment / Reflections

Assess student participation during both whole-class discussions and small-group work using your observations and anecdotal notes.
Evaluate the interview questions and the notes from the actual interview. How well were students able to use the materials you provided (the Oral History Questions worksheet and the How to Interview a Relative worksheet) to develop their interview questions and conduct their interviews? Did students choose thoughtful and appropriate questions? Did they use these questions during the interview? Did they take opportunities to ask related questions while interviewing their relative?
Use the Family Memories Narrative Rubric to evaluate the completed personal narratives and peer review forms.

Students imagine they have been asked to participate in a museum exhibit, take photos/videos of a significant location, and write or record reflections. Students can also create an exhibit from something they have read.

Students interview a parent or another adult about the Challenger and hypothesize about differences. Students can also write about the Columbia disaster in 2003.

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You are here, 14 activities for building literacy at home.

A girl looks up from reading a picture book.

Literacy is more than just reading.

Developing literacy, especially in young children, also means helping a child learn to engage with the world: How to ask questions, form knowledge, imagine the (im)possible, and reflect on their experiences.

With many young children spending more time at home due to COVID-19, Penn GSE Reading/Writing/Literacy doctoral student Daris McInnis offers these 14 activities that will help parents build these literacy skills with their children and have fun in the process.

These activities are all meant to be personalized to work with what you have at home or around your neighborhood.

Two ideas are at the heart of every activity.

The first is inquiry. One of the best ways to teach children is to ask a child questions, McInnis says, and to encourage a child to ask questions when they are curious or want to explore more.

The second is respect. It’s important we treat kids as the cosmopolitan intellectuals that they are, as Penn GSE’s Gerald Campano and Columbia professor Maria Paula Ghiso remind us. When we treat their ideas and questions with respect and engage them in meaningful dialogue, children will want to explore more.

Create a schedule

One of the first things kids see when they walk into a classroom is a schedule with pictures of what they will do for the day. Whether you are providing care for your child every day or only occasionally, a schedule can help orient both you and your child.

You can ask your child to draw pictures for each activity, which gives them some ownership over the schedule.

Remember, you can be flexible after you write in those times. Some activities will be shorter, some will take longer. That’s fine.

Looking for more advice for families? Subscribe to the Educator’s Playbook for Parents .

Chart the weather

Start the day by stepping outside and asking: what does it feel like and what does it look like?

Creating a meteorology chart to track the temperature and the forecast allows children to use their knowledge, senses, and curiosity to explore the weather and its effects.

Invite your child to draw the day’s forecast or weather. Or if this is an everyday activity, they could create a series of drawings representing different forecasts to swap in and out of your chart.

For slightly older children, around age 5 and 6, you can ask ‘why’ questions, like: why do you think it’s hot today? You can start to explain bigger concepts like the relationship between the sun and the earth and how seasons work, depending on your geography.

Tune up fine motor skills

Young kids love sorting things. With your child’s help, you can create a sorting activity that will help them notice similarities and differences and also develop their fine motor skills.

Collect objects from around your home of different size or shape, like a grain of rice, a bead, or a remote control. Ask your child to sort the objects into different piles. You are introducing the math concept of categorization and opening the door for powerful inquiry.

Ask the child why they put the grain of rice into this pile instead of that pile. Are they organizing by size, shape, color, or something else?

While they are thinking, you’ll be helping your child build their dexterity while they practice gripping with their thumb, index, and middle finger – this is important for pencil grip and writing activities in the future.

If a child is physically unable to sort the items without assistance, you can move the objects for them and still ask the rationale behind their choices.

Scavenger hunt!

You don't have to buy any new stuff to use your home as a play space.

When you create your scavenger hunt, you can show your child what a list is and why we would use one. You can ask them to find something that is a circle or a triangle. Find a letter S. Find a clock. Find something with the color green. The possibilities are limitless.

For slightly older kids, you can let your child do the hunt themselves and give them a time limit. Be sure to use a timer they can see, to keep them on task.

This is a way to encourage your child to notice details in their everyday environment and also build their vocabulary. For example, your child might identify an iron as a triangle. This is a chance to explain what an iron is and why someone would use it.

Bonus idea: Create some cutouts of letters and hide them around your home.

Have more ideas? Let us know. Tag us on Instagram or Twitter @PennGSE on your neighborhood walks, experiments, weather reports, home cooking, and art!

Plant a seed

You can create a really nice gardening activity with materials you have around the home, like reusing an egg carton, paper cups, or an old two-liter bottle.

You can show a child how to plant a seed. You can tell them about watering and sunlight needs. Have them start a plant journal where they can draw what they notice about the plant bed every day. This can open a conversation about the life cycle of the plant.

There’s even a behavior element to this lesson. How do we use our bodies around the plant? For instance, it’s probably not a good idea to play with or throw an object near the plant, because we might knock it over and hurt it.

Kids are innately brilliant, and books are a way to spark a child’s imagination and develop early literacy skills. As you are reading the book, make sure the child can see the pictures. Ask them what they notice, in both the narrative and the pictures, especially about details like characters’ facial expressions.

When you finish the story, encourage them to respond to the text. Maybe that’s drawing a picture of their favorite part. Or asking them to explain why they like or dislike a particular character in the story. You are providing opportunities for your child to explore their own ideas, extract information, form opinions, and infer.

Don’t forget, many libraries have created touchless pickup or have digital borrowing options to help families through COVID.

Readers’ theater

Building on a read aloud, have your child act out a favorite story, or act it out with them. For slightly older children, encourage them to make a costume from items around your home.

You are testing their comprehension, but it’s also super cute. If you’re able to, record their production on a mobile device, and let them see themselves as a writer, actor, and director.

Remember: Cardboard boxes make great set pieces, like vehicles or clubhouses.

Make some goo

Find a recipe online to make your own version of Gak or Play-Doh. It might be a good idea to try this activity on your own first. When you do get to the lab together (probably the kitchen area), start by going over the safety rules, and orient them to the materials and the ingredients.

Once your Gak or Play-Doh is ready, create letters and numbers on a piece of cardboard or tin. Have your child shape the material into the letters. This helps kids recognize their name, which they will need to do at day care or pre-school.

Added bonus: Because it can take 30 minutes to an hour just to make the material, this can be good for a rainy day spent inside.

Collage time

Collages are a great way to introduce kids to creating art. They can be figurative or abstract, and they can feature letters, shapes, colors, story characters, or any other theme you and your child might want to try. Found objects like bottle caps, pipe cleaners, and feathers make great additions — but think twice before opening glitter.

Don’t forget to ask your child to sign their piece, since they are, in fact, the artist. Then display it. Running out of gallery space? Try a memory board, which will let you slide pieces in and out. Save special pieces in a scrap book or an accordion file, which makes a meaningful gift when your child reaches a milestone like graduating high school.

When we treat their ideas and questions with respect and engage them in meaningful dialogue, children will want to explore more.

Take a virtual tour

Because of the pandemic, many museums and zoos around the world have expanded their virtual offerings.

Virtual tours are fun activities themselves, but they also offer another chance to invite your child to do some critical thinking. Say you tour the Smithsonian’s Air & Space Museum . You might learn that in our solar system, Mercury is the closest planet to the sun, but Venus is the hottest. Ask your child: why do they think this the case? You can explore comets or share dialogue about how gravity might work on other planets.

Inquiry is a great way to keep your child interested and engaged in learning, based on what they already know and things they care about, McInnis says. The discussion and exchange you have about what they learned, or what they liked, or what they want to know more about, can help you plan your next virtual tour.

Give them an apron

You can do two things at once: Engage your kids AND keep them busy while you prepare a meal.

If your family has a particularly cherished recipe you can tell you child how it’s been passed down from generation to generation. Or you can describe the part of the world where this meal originated. You can also write out a recipe with your child, having them add words or drawings as they go. Eventually you could design and publish a family cookbook with your child as a significant contributor.

You can give children basic, age appropriate tasks, like rinsing food, or tearing up herbs or lettuce. It’s also a good opportunity to talk about the importance of following steps when preparing meals and teaching them about food safety.

One more hack: The slow cooker is your friend. Take turns with your child measuring ingredients and filling the pot. You can start dinner early in the day, avoid using a stove, and still enjoy a nice hot meal.

Take a stroll

Nature or community walks are a great way to get out your home and into your community space. It's also an opportunity for you to talk about nature, perhaps naming some trees you see, birds overhead, or flowers in your window box.

If there isn't much green around your community, there is an opportunity to talk about environmental print. Stop signs are octagons and other street signs have different shapes; use the world around you to engage in discussions around shapes, colors, and letters we see every day.

Introduce an experiment

People often assume science lessons are for older children. But thanks to their natural curiosity, younger children are great scientists too.

Try a game of sink or float for your first experiment. Create a chart, help the child write or draw objects, and then have them predict if the objects will sink or float in a bowl of water.

Kids will often pause if you ask about an egg, because of the shape. Or you can ask about a piece of tinfoil folded like the hull of a boat versus a ball of aluminum foil. This can lead to a conversation about buoyancy and water displacement.

For the next experiment, the child can find objects to test. Note: Your smartphone will sink. Don’t test that.

Freeze dance!

Dance parties are fun, and as your kids learn songs, they can help you write out the lyrics or names of songs in a playlist. Or open the recycle bin to find materials to make your own drums and maracas, and make the music yourselves.

Jam out to your favorite tunes or dance while playing your homemade instruments — and when you pause the music, it’s time to freeze your body!

And remember, if you and/or your child are working virtually for an extended period of time, dance parties are a fun, simple way to take a break.

Related News

Media inquiries.

Penn GSE Communications is here to help reporters connect with the education experts they need.

Kat Stein Executive Director of Penn GSE Communications (215) 898-9642 [email protected]

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At-Home Family Literacy Activity Guides for Early Grade School

Several weeks ago, our Early Literacy team shared guides to help parents conduct storytimes at home to encourage children ages 0-5 to read, write, sing, talk, and play. NYPL’s Youth Education Services department is now excited to share a second set of activity guides for parents and families to conduct literacy activities at home with their young school-aged children (ages 5-9).

These activity guides feature simple at-home activities that allow early elementary children to express their creativity through writing and art while supporting the development of literacy skills. All activities can be completed with limited materials (typically paper, pencil, and crayons) and feature paired “virtual read alouds” from the NYPL digital collections. These paired read-alouds connect to the theme of each activity and can be shared before or after completing the activity with your child.

We hope you can use these activity guides to have fun reading, learning, and writing together as a family.

Activity Guides in English

All About Me Books
Community Superhero Comics
Five Senses Poems
Thank You Cards
Recipe-Writing
Shape Poems

Activity Guides in Spanish

Libro: "Todo sobre mí"
Historieta de un superhéroe de mi comunidad
Poema de los cinco sentidos
Tarjetas de agradecimiento
Receta familiar
Poema de formas

A Maryland State Department of Education Resource

marylandpublicschools.org

Download samples of family literacy bag themes for your program.

Family Literacy Bag Materials For Educators

Melissa Carey, IDEALS Institute

Build Children’s Literacy Skills

Create family literacy bags to engage parents and families. Fill your bags with books, activities, games, puppets and other materials that support your chosen theme. Families borrow the bags to take home and use while spending time with their children. Below are practical samples and examples of materials to help you incorporate family literacy bags into your program.

Click here to download and print all materials as a PDF .

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All early care and education providers can support families by promoting a nutritious diet and healthy eating habits in babies and children, which will lead to children’s healthy growth and development.

Illustration of a mother with her young child at a doctor's visit.

Family Well-Being: Health Tip Sheet

All early care and education providers can support families by helping them to find consistent medical care and encouraging them to have their children monitored regularly.

Family Well-Being: A Focus on Family Depression

Evidence from early childhood research and practice shows a strong link between parents’ health and well-being and their children’s development.

SIMPLE Planning for the PERFECT Family Literacy Night

Updated: Dec 31, 2023

A successful literacy night for parents cannot just be thrown together a week before it happens.

The purpose of a Family Literacy Night for is to provide important information about children’s literacy development and share research-based strategies that can be easily be implemented by parents at home with ANY piece of text.

Planning a successful literacy night for parents that meets the purpose and provides families with strategies to use at home can be overwhelming. However, if you have a checklist and an eager group to take on different responsibilities, the planning can be easy! I'm here to show you a quick checklist for planning your Family Literacy Night.

Keep reading then grab your free Family Literacy Night Planning Tool here . Printable resources to keep your Family Literacy Night Planning organized.

Let's outline the steps to planning the PERFECT Family Literacy Night...

Organize a Planning Committee

Create a Family Literacy Night Planning Committee to gather ideas about strategies to share with parents and “shop” for a tool for every parent to take away from each strategy station or booth.

The shopping could mean that you buy certain items, such as bookmarks, books, pens, pencils, notebooks, etc. BUT…it could mean that you create strategy tools to print and prepare at school using the supplies already available.

Where, When and How

Plan the general information—date, time, where, theme and layout plan for the night. After setting a date and time for the literacy night, the organization begins.

You will want to have at least a month’s advance notice, so that advertising, purchasing and preparing supplies won’t become an added stressor to the teachers’ already packed schedules.

Start thinking about themes for the night. This could drive the décor and freebies handed out throughout the night.

Spread the Word

Advertise well ahead of time to build anticipation among parents, guardians, students and the school community. Create and send invitations with RSVPs. You will want to have a general idea of the supplies needed for your strategy stations/booths.

Make sure you have door prizes relevant to the school community and the literacy cause.

You want to gain interest and enthusiasm for your events so...do a social media blast, put it on the marquee sign, talk about it in robocalls home, send notices weekly, etc.

Make sure teachers are talking it up in the classrooms. If teachers genuinely build it up…students will make sure their parents come! If teachers are kept in the loop during the planning process, they will be better equipped to advertise the night and build student enthusiasm.

Literacy Literacy Literacy

Make it about Literacy strategies and nothing else—no dances, no carnival games or anything over the top. If you do that, the literacy aspect is lost because it’s all about the nonacademic fun instead of the literacy. Sure, having a school dance is fun, but the students will be there for the music, the refreshments and NOT the literacy strategies. A carnival would also be fun, but everyone would be there for the games and not the literacy strategies.

Strategies Strategies Strategies

Provide strategies that can be done at home with little or no prep. Parents ARE teachers but they are not TEACHERS!

Give the parents and guardians something they can do as soon as they get home. Make sure the strategy work is something that can be done with any type of reading.

Strategies to Use Over and Over

Don’t give ACTIVITIES that are “one and done”! See step #5 Strategies. I know...I already said this in Step #6 , but I really feel strongly about this. I've seen Literacy Night activities where teachers were giving parents a packet of questions to go through and answer with their students. How was that going to help a reader grow and build a culture of literacy at home? I'm just sayin'...

Get Everyone On Board

Encourage ALL teachers to be there not just ELA teachers. Reading feeds everything, so all teachers need to be on board.

Offer incentives for teachers, such as, “jean days”, leave 30 minutes early passes, arrive 30 minutes late passes…you get the idea!

When ALL subject area teachers take part in Literacy Night, it will demonstrate how the ENTIRE campus must work together for a common goal—Literacy achievement while building that culture of literacy in the school community. This is a two-way street and works for a Math and Science Night too!

Prepare and Get Organized

The week before Literacy Night have teachers gather together (maybe a faculty meeting) and prepare their strategy station materials and booth signs, décor, etc.

The Literacy Planning Committee will want to assign staff members to each strategy booth/station. Before leaving, organize a basket for each strategy booth partnership so it’s ready to go on Literacy Night. This will make setup SO MUCH easier!

The afternoon of the event—gather the Literacy Committee and any other teacher volunteers to set up the Literacy Night area with each strategy station/booth’s basket, sign and supplies.

Event Night

Open the doors and gather parents, guardians and students together in one common area to explain the setup and how the night will go. Once the layout and plan is explained, let them loose to visit each strategy booth/station to gather tools for helping their young readers at home.

Planning a large school event like Family Literacy Night takes time and energy, but it doesn't have to be overwhelming. Just break it down into these easy parts to divide and conquer the work.

Grab this FREE Planning Tool to create a Successful Parent Literacy Night where I've outlined these same steps in more detail with Ready To Use Printable resources to keep your Family Literacy Night Planning organized.

Until next time...

#familyliteracynight

Family Literacy Night

5 Ways to Help Readers Find the RIGHT Book

The HOME Reading Toolkit You NEED to Support Your Readers At Home

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NCFL's 2023 Impact Report is now available

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NCFL has been a leader in family learning since 1989, developing strategies, models, and resources designed for families and practitioners to create a multigenerational impact. We believe that communities grow and thrive when the whole family is engaged in learning together and parents and caregivers have a voice in the systems that serve them.

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Responding to the literacy needs of children and families for multigenerational impact.

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Parents & children, “working with our community partners, which include ncfl, we have developed a toolbox of strategies to better engage all of our families. as a school that primarily serves minority families, it is critical that we develop the capacity of our school staff and families in order to engage as partners that advocate and support the academic and social-emotional well-being of all our students. family engagement is not something that grace james staff does to families, but something that we are developing and cocreating as a team in order to work together to ensure the mission and vision is attainable for all children.”, la'tonya c. frazier-goatley, grace james academy of excellence.

“Since the Nebraska SFEC began in 2018, we’ve seen great growth in things like social connectedness, academic achievement for the young people in the program, adult education gains, and student attendance gains that we all know lead to stronger communities long term.”

Dr. joshua cramer, nebraska children and families foundation.

“I am more involved in teaching and developing my children. What I enjoy most is the time I spend with my child in her classroom and seeing how she interacts with her peers. It also allows me to have better communication with her teacher. On the other hand, the English classes have helped me a lot in my day-to-day. It has given me more certainty and confidence in myself.”

Rosa victoria, participant.

“My kids are off to a great start in their academic careers. I am able to provide for my family because of the opportunities and experiences that I’ve gained. My family literacy program has always integrated my Diné language and culture, expressed their kinship with me, and acknowledged my Diné traditional upbringing and background. The incorporation of Diné language and culture and what FACE stands for is something that is truly effective for our young students.”

Family and child education (face) program participant.

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